- - - - - -Death on Flight 77: Would you look away?Jimmy Mubenga's death suggests few of us would help asylum seekers, even when their life is at riskguardian.co.uk, Melanie McFadyean, 20 October 2010

'You could hear the guy screaming at the back of the plane. He was saying 'they are going to kill me' ... He just kept repeating that all the way through." So said a witness to the horror story that emerged from BA Fight 77 to Angola last week. Jimmy Mubenga begged passengers to help him moments before he died beneath three security guards. And yet none of the passengers went to his aid. Was it because he was a big strong man being held down by three big blokes? http://bit.ly/cc8U1z - - - - - - Activists demand deportations haltMorning Star, Lizzie Cocker, 19 October 2010

Medical Justice campaigners called on Tuesday for the suspension of all forced deportations until the truth about the death of Angolan refugee Jimmy Mubenga is discovered. The group's director Emma Ginn spoke out following the arrests of three civilian security guards in connection with the death. http://bit.ly/91dSRo - - - - - - MPs to grill borders chief and security firm over Jimmy Mubenga deathHome affairs select committee to scrutinise use of restraint in deportations after man's fatal collapse on plane out of UK Guardian, Alan Travis, 19 October 2010http://bit.ly/cLs3dP

Women for Refugee Women invites you to a unique event, Break the Silence at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith on 28 November 2010 at 3pm. WRW will be presenting a play and an audience discussion to shine a light on the hidden experiences of women who come to the UK fleeing persecution. The play, How I Became an Asylum Seeker, is written and performed by a group of women refugees, Women Asylum Seekers Together. Then the author of the play, Lydia Besong, and some of the cast will join actor Juliet Stevenson and Briget Phillipson MP for a discussion. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear the inspiring voices and stories of some very courageous women, and to think about how we can support them in their struggle.

Below is a statement from Right to Work about the 23rd October march in Manchester. The call for unity was unanimously agreed last night at our open activists' meeting.

Unity in fighting the cuts – coordinating protests in Manchester on Saturday 23 October.Several weeks ago, Manchester Right to Work Campaign called a demonstration and march on Saturday 23rd October in Manchester. As activists involved in the fight against the cuts across the city, we felt that we should take to our streets and show our anger at the Coalition’s cuts to be announced at the Comprehensive Spending Review on Wednesday 20th. The Tories will claim that the public support the cuts – in Manchester we want to show that this isn’t true. Our model for the protest was the successful Right to Work mobilisation in Manchester on Tuesday 22nd June, when several hundred marched through town on the evening of the Emergency Budget.

Big Society – Where We StandThis position has been developed through discussion and debate over time within RAPAR. We have also been listening carefully to some other voluntary sector organisations who are very concerned about this issue. With all the discussion about the Big Society and what it means for the voluntary sector we at RAPAR feel it necessary to make this statement about where we stand as a voluntary organisation in Manchester.

Family with 4 children locked up at Yarl's Wood Zaheer Ahmed, his wife Uzma Ahmed, who is pregnant and their four children Wajihi (13), Hassan (11), Taha (7) and Haifa (3) were detained early yesterday morning at their home in Cardiff, while the children were still in their. They are now at Yarlswood IRC and have been given removal directions for Qatar Airways flight QR012 from Heathrow to Doha and flight QR318 from Doha to Karachi on Saturday 2nd October at 15:05. http://bit.ly/b0sRZF

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New Removal Directions for Wanda Tete, 2 October 2010 Wanda Tete (Cardiff) Has been given new removal directions to DR Congo for Saturday, 2 October, on Ethiopian Airlines. More information to follow. Click here to read more about Wanda: http://bit.ly/aSlT45

UKBA have issued two new documents, to be used by UKBA decision makers in assessing asylum claimsGender Issues in the Asylum Claim Paragraph 339J of the Immigration Rules requires the assessment of an asylum claim, eligibility for a grant of humanitarian protection or a human rights claim to be carried out on an individual, objective and impartial basis. Amongst other considerations, this will include taking into account the individual position and personal circumstances of the person. This includes factors such as background, gender and age, so as to assess whether, on the basis of the person's personal circumstances, the acts to which the person has been or could be exposed would amount to persecution or serious harm.

This instruction provides further guidance on how the UK Border Agency's responsibilities in considering asylum claims should be carried out with regard to gender. Published 29th September 2010 document is attached

* No justice for millions of victimsBy Jonathan Lynn, Geneva, Alert Net, Oct 1st - The United Nations released a controversial report on Friday documenting hundreds of atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and suggesting ways to end the climate of near-total impunity for the violence.

The report is an attempt to cover rights abuses in the former Zaire between 1993 and 2003, in which tens of thousands of people were killed and many others raped, mutilated or otherwise victimised.

The period of the report was marked by a string of political crises, wars and conflicts in the region that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people.

Free The Blogfather Hossein DerakhshanHossein 'Hoder' Derakhshan is an Iranian-Canadian Blogger, journalist, and internet activist. He has been advocating the use of the internet as a mean for social and political reform in Iran. He is credited with starting the blogging revolution in Iran and is called by many journalists 'the father of Persian blogging' or the 'Blogfather'.There is no place for journalists in jail. We do not accept this 19.5 years of jail sentence. Hossein Derakhshan needs to be free. Sign the petition now: http://bit.ly/95i0l9

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State-sponsored cruelty to children continuesNews is coming in of a Pakistani family with 4 children, aged 3 - 12 years, detained in Yarl's Wood. More details soon.